'Jill Trevelyan is a writer and curator who first encountered the art of Edith Collier at Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery during the 1990s. Along with Jennifer Taylor and Greg Donson, she has edited new release, Edith Collier, Early New Zealand Modernist.
Hi Jill! For those who don't know about Edith Collier, can you tell us a bit about her?
Edith is one of our most dynamic and fascinating artists of the early 20th century. She initially studied art in Whanganui before sailing to London in 1913, where she was inspired by modern art. Over the next nine years she went from strength to strength, producing an extraordinary body of work. Today, most of Edith’s art is housed at Sarjeant Gallery in her hometown, Whanganui. In November 2024, when the Sarjeant reopens after a major rebuilding project and expansion, Edith’s art will be featured in one of the opening exhibitions. I’ve been working with the curators Jennifer Taylor and Greg Donson, and we’re excited about this chance to celebrate Edith’s work at such an important moment in the gallery’s history. We’re also launching a beautiful new book with more than 150 illustrations. It includes essays and contributions by 23 writers, including Edith’s biographer, Dr Joanne Drayton, artist Gretchen Albrecht, Edith’s nephew Gordon Collier and poet Airini Beautrais.
What were the biggest takeaways from researching her life and career?
I was struck by the boldness and adventurousness of Edith’s work in England. She responded very quickly to modernism and her art changed dramatically in just a few years. Take Boy with Noah’s Ark, an eye-catching painting of 1916-17. It’s so witty and playful, with its crisp blocky forms, slotted together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Look closer and you start to identify the animals – spot the elephant – tumbling out of the ark. This painting would’ve looked astonishing in Aotearoa at the time, when the local art scene was dominated by society portraits and traditional landscapes. Another aspect of Edith’s work that impressed me were the paintings she made at Kāwhia, after her return home. She spent six months there in 1928, painting portraits of local kuia and the Kāwhia landscape. We’ve been able to meet the descendants of those portraits, and – nearly 100 years after Edith’s visit to Kāwhia – share her paintings with the Ngāti Mahuta trustees of Maketū marae. That’s been incredibly special, and those people have added so much to our understanding of Edith‘s paintings.'
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